Only eight days into the 11th Sarawak state general election on May 7, Sarawak Barisan Nasional is running the most schizophrenic election campaign in Malaysian election history, painfully reflecting the confusion, “double vision” and split personality of the Sarawak Barisan Nasional campaign.
The best example is the reaction of the PBB Deputy President Abang Johari Abang Openg who warned Barisan Nasional not to be lulled into a false sense of security by my statement that DAP risks losing seven seats.
Abang Johari should not be accusing me of employing a “ploy”, but should direct his attack on the Sarawak Chief Minisrer, Tan Sri Adenan Satem, as I was only taking Adenan seriously when he declared two days ago that Barisan Nasional would win at least 70 of the 82 seats in the May 7 polls.
This would leave at most 12 seats to be won by the Opposition. Baru Bian predicts five seats for PKR, which leaves only some five to seven seats for the DAP – which fits exactly the worst-case scenario described by Adenan, and why I had warned in Sarikei on Saturday night that DAP risked losing more than half of the 12 seats won in the 2011 general election.
If I am wrong, then it was Adenan who was wrong in publicly declaring that BN would win at least 70 out of 82 State Assembly seats on May 7.
It is open secret however that Sarawak Barisan Nasional is embarking on an incessent and intensive four-prong strategy to eliminate or at least halve the DAP State Assembly representation, viz:
1. The Adenan effect.
2. The Najib effect.
3. Politics of Money.
4. Politics of Fear and Intimidation.
In fact, I have received disturbing reports that the money politics employed in this election campaign in some areas is on a scale which would put to shame past blatant use of money to win votes and seats.
The politics of fear and intimidation in this campaign is also unprecedented and the DAP candidate, Larry Asap; is a victim where he is warned not to enter and visit a kampong in the Bukit Goram constituency.
Adenan and BN are working very hard to achieve a worst-case scenario for DAP, but all DAP supporters and voters must embark on a full mobilisation in the last four days of election campaign to achieve the two-fold DAP objectives: firstly, to defend and win the 13 State Assembly seats carved out of the 12 DAP seats won in the last general elections; and secondly, to achieve a breakthrough by winning a few of the Dayak-dominated seats in the other 18 constituencies contested by the DAP so as to send a multi-ethnic group of Chinese, Dayak and Malay State Assembly representatives into the Sarawak State Assembly.
This is not the only example of the “schizophrenic” nature of the Barisan Nasional election campaign in Sarawak.
Another example of the “schizophrenia” and even hypocrisy of the Sarawak BN campaign is the abuse of power of immigration autonomy by the Sarawak Chief Minister by denying DAP and PKR leaders their basic rights to carry out “legitimate political activities” as guaranteed by the 1963 Malaysia Agreement, the Malaysian Constitution and the Immigration Act.
If Adenan is so confident of winning at least 70 of the 82 State Assembly seats on May 7 polling day, why must he blemish and blot his image as a democrat and reformer to deny DAP and PKR leaders their democratic and legitimate constitutional rights?
Or is this at the plea of SUPP and other Sarawak Barisan Nasional parties and leaders?
Or is this to protect the Malaysian Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak who has hijacked the Sarawak general election campaign from Adenan, turning the 11th Sarawak general election into a popularity vote for Najib, although without informing the Sarawak voters that a vote for BN on May 7 would be trumpetted to the nation and the whole world as a vote for Najib?
Adenan bars DAP and PKR leaders from entry into Sarawak to carry out legitimate political activities to campaign in the Sarawak general election.
Would he dare to bar the Prime Minister, the Deputy Prime Minister or even the entire Cabinet of 37 Ministers to enter Sarawak to campaign for the BN in the Sarawak general election?
I am not for a moment suggesting that Adenan should bar the PM, DPM and the 37 Ministers entry into Sarawak to campaign in the Sarawak general election, for this would be an abuse of power by the Chief Minister which is completely wrong and unjustifiable. But such a ban would be completely unthinkable!
The treatment of the PKR Vice President Nurul Izzah Anwar is most shameful, disgraceful and unfitting of Adenan’s “gentleman” persona.
Adenan publicly said that he would consider allowing Nurul into the state if she asked him ‘politely’ to be allowed entry into Sarawak.
This is what Nurul had done but she found herself barred in Miri from entry into Sarawak.
I just cannot understand why Adenan is so afraidd of Nurul that he prepared to abandon his code of conduct as a gentleman – another example of the schizophrenic character of the Barisan Nasional election campaign.
It will be interesting to organise a contest for participants to cite the many examples of the schizophrenic character of the Barisan Nasional election campaign in Sarawak in the 12 days from Nomination to Polling Day to fathom the depth of schizophrenia of the Sarawak BN strategists and campaigners.
(Speech at the DAP Sarawak state general election ceramah in Kapit on Tuesday, May 3, 2016 at 8 am)